WESM Local/Regional News
(2007-09-20)
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Assateague's feral horses may be eating themselves out of house and home.
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Assateague Island is a popular tourist destination for people visiting the Eastern Shore - drawing over three million visitors each year. One of the island's most popular highlights is the pony penning, which occurs when the island's wild horses are rounded up, to swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague, Virginia.
However, a report recently released by the National Parks Conservation Association says that those same horses are endangering the island's natural habitat. Among other findings, the report says that these wild horses are overgrazing, and displacing a lot of the island's native wildlife.
Joy Oakes, Senior Regional Director for the NPCA, explains further:
Oakes: Well it's important to understand that the horses aren't native to the island - and when you've been to Assateague, you know that a beach environment is pretty delicate. It's a harsh condition for all the things that try to live out there.
She also notes that the horse population on the island - which is currently at 140 - needs to be further reduced by the US Park Service:
Oakes: In that great a number, they do a lot of damage - including eating a lot of the native plants, for example. And you can see this pretty clearly so particularly in large numbers, the horses are out of balance in that environment.
There were a number of other findings from the report, including the damage caused by over-sand vehicles on the island.
Tune in to Eastern Shore Focus this Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 10 a.m. as we further discuss the current state of Assateague Island.
Or visit our Eastern Shore Focus website at: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1152467
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